


Recruitment

by ultimatehope



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Post-Recall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21652633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultimatehope/pseuds/ultimatehope
Summary: Overwatch is in need of brave people to join the fight after recall.After recruiting former members, Genji Shimada, Jesse McCree, and Mei-Lingzhou, and having Genji's master, Zenyatta, join their company, Winston sends them to meet and potentially recruit Aleksandra Zaryanova of Russia's defense forces to stand against Talon.
Relationships: Aleksandra "Zarya" Zaryanova/Mei-Ling Zhou
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

“I didn’t know omnics got cold!” A short-lived giggle followed the words as Mei looked over her companions for this mission. They were all bundled up, even Zenyatta, and there was something so familiar about this sight for her. Zenyatta sat with his legs tucked underneath him, scarf protecting the delicate circuitry around his neck, and tucked at his side was Genji who hid his mechanical parts carefully with clothing, “It is so cute that you two are cuddling!”

The attempts to make conversation went ignored by the former Blackwatch member that sat across from the woman, and the cowboy beside her wasn’t as conversational either, but at least Zenyatta never went without replying, right? 

He allowed for his own chuckle and nodded, “There is much more to omnics than one would believe … especially when you were frozen away from the world for so long. I would love to share my experiences.” His optics flickered, head turning slowly to the man that seemed to hunker closer to him.

Mei rested her hands on her knees, glancing between the men that accompanied her, “It’s about Commander Reyes, isn’t it?” She sucked in a deep breath that was exhaled through her nose. It wasn’t clear if she was speaking to Zenyatta still or the two who used to work under Reyes, but they clearly reacted by snorting and crossing their arms over their chests. It was perfect synchrony.

“McCree, Genji ... “ Zenyatta began, systems thrumming, “I am to understand how emotionally charged this mission will be for the both of you; however, your former commander will not be present, I do hope you both understand.”

That’s when McCree murmured, “Yeah, just a recon mission …” His tone was flat, “Don’t even know why they’re botherin’ sendin’ us.” He brought his whiskey eyes up to look at his ex-lover with his lips pushed together in a straight line, “Not that I ain’t happy to be spendin’ time with the lot of ya. Just can’t believe Reyes is alive and--”

“Didn’t reach out to either of us,” Genji finished his sentence with steam releasing from his vents, “I am angry too, McCree. I feel sorrow for our reunion being plagued by these negative feelings.”

The cowboy merely shrugged, “I ain’t mad at you, pumpkin, I ain’t even sure if I’m even mad or just hurt … but I know if I gotta see either of those traitors--” His hand balled into a fist beside him.

Zenyatta allowed the men to vent, bringing a finger up as a silent gesture for Mei to do the same.

“Angela and Moira were so in love … how could things get so bad?” The sneaking sound of defeat appeared in Genji’s voice, “How could she leave the doctor alone like that? After all we’ve lost … I guess we didn’t really lose much, did we?”  
“Moira doesn’t care about anyone but herself, that’s how, whoever’ll fund more projects, she’ll be up the ass of so fuckin’ fast, like, faster than green grass through a goose, I can’t even tell ya,” McCree reached up to take his hat off, pushing his thick brown hair backwards.

Genji tilted his head to the side with a chuckle erupting from him, “Ohh … I think I finally understand your words, cowboy.” He tilted his head to Zenyatta and shared a few words with him in Japanese before nodding, “Funny man!” 

“Did ya just ask the omnic what that meant?” He threw his pointer finger in Zenyatta’s direction, “Did he just ask ya what that meant?” Finally, he fell into laughter, as well, “I need to stop ragin’ over here, it ain’t right.”

“It is hard! It is hard not to be angry!” insisted Genji, “We were lied to by someone we cared so dearly about, it is only natural to feel hurt, and we mourned, Jesse, we mourned for so many years when we didn’t have to …”

“I know ya right, sugarcube, but-- no, I know ya right, I just thought I was finally over the anger, finally over mourning, then the recall happens and it’s like ‘oh yeah, Gabe’s been trying to kill us all’, y’know, the man who took ya in and gave ya purpose when ya life was goin’ to all hell. I remember how much I hated him… almost wished he would’ve just put me in prison--” 

Genji nodded, “I wanted to die or kill my brother. Whichever I could manage to do quicker, but Reyes gave me purpose on our team … as questionable as that purpose was …”

Mei finally lifted her own legs to rest on the bench beneath her rear and she held onto the thick fabric of her snowsuit with a frown on her face, “It feels like so much has happened …” She swallowed back. Her cheeks to the tips of her ears had a rosy tone consuming them, “Ana, Jack, and Gabe … how do you not tell your loved ones?”

And this seemed to be the highlight of conversations with the Overwatch members who had been recalled. Everyone had their take on the fall and their own resentment towards the commanders’ actions. It was hard for Mei to keep up with. She was still mourning her own team and would do anything to bring them back so it was hard to grasp how it must feel to mourn someone for years and be told they’re working for the enemy or doing vigilante work or whatever it was that they had gotten caught up in.

It was a long flight to Russia. They arrived at the Krasnoyarsk International Airport just past noon and had taken a moment to collect their thoughts after retrieving their luggage. McCree was off getting them drinks, and by the sounds of it, flirting with a young, male barista. Genji clapped his hands, “Jesse, bring me my tea.” 

Mei sat on a bench and mentally mapped the surrounding area, trying to identify where the meeting location they were given was. Zenyatta sat beside her, floating above the bench, and leaning slightly to commit the map to memory. 

“Are you boys ready yet?” Mei asked, folding up the map and giving a nod to Zenyatta before tucking it away in her jacket. A beep could be heard from Snowball as he was pulled onto her back, and she clapped her own hands, “Come on, let’s get going.”

McCree said his departing words to the barista that he would most-likely never see again. He caught up to the ground, popping drinks out of the tray, “Genji--” He handed his tea, “Mei--” Her hot cocoa was placed in her gloved hand, “And guess what I found for you, omnic--” A third cup was handed to him before he chucked the tray. It appeared he was the only one who got actual coffee but he quickly pulled out a flask and started adding to it.

“Where did you get that from?” murmured Genji as the three walked into the frigid air. 

McCree replied, “None ya business,” without skipping a beat but his subsequent wink suggested it was more playful than anything.

Zenyatta folded his hands in his lap, “I suggest we ... “ And his tone now suggested he was very pleased with his next words, “Put a little pep in our step… lest someone recognize you two.”

Mei giggled at the amused tone the omnic had, feeling as if she could see a smile on his mouthless faceplates. It was something about the way their optics brightened and their helms tilted. Not quite the same as Snowball’s beeps and erratic movements but… very similar, she believed.

And the low tone that he used when talking was enough for a calm feeling to spread over them, contradicting the mood of the flight. 

As the only two who spoke Russian, Mei and Zenyatta led the way through the airport and got them a ride into the city. They arrived at the coordinates in under an hour, but it wasn’t quite what they expected.

It wasn’t quite the home of a soldier nor the base of a military, it wasn’t the palace of a celebrity or somewhere that someone with such a reputation would be found in. It was more like…

“Is this a gym?” Mei asked, glancing at her companions despite knowing they knew just about as much as she did.

“It does appear so, doesn’t it?” Zenyatta added.

McCree made a face, “Sure we got the right place?”  
Genji leaned his chin on Mei’s shoulder, glancing down at the same map she was looking at, “It is the right coordinates.”

“Well… let’s head in then,” Mei was the first one into the building, letting the door swing shut behind her. She pushed her hair from her face but before she could greet the omnic checking membership cards, her eyes landed on her.

It was definitely her. 

Aleksandra Zaryanova.

Even if she hadn’t seen the posters and the interviews or joined on the mission briefing… a woman that stood over six feet with biceps that Mei was convinced were bigger than her head and that bright pink hair, scars she wore with pride…

This was the woman that they wanted for Overwatch.

And she approached her, getting caught up in the way that her tank top formed to her muscles. Her sports bra could be seen each time she lifted her weights, colorful just like her hair, and the sweat that pooled on her body, the strain as she pushed herself to her limits…

Mei fiddled with her gloved fingers as she approached, jerking to attention when their eyes met by accident, “Zarya, is it?” Her voice was quiet, and she repeated herself in Russian.

Zarya set the weights down and murmured something to another muscular woman that stood barely taller than Mei. It was clearly in Russian but said so fast and low that Mei couldn’t quite translate in her own mind. 

“Yes, you may call me Zarya,” She replied in English, the first language that had been spoken to her. The woman beside her started adding weight onto her equipment.

“My name is Mei-Ling Zhou, I’m with…”

“Overwatch. I am surprised you came in person.”

“Yes, well, this is of the utmost import--”

“No.”

“What?”

“No.”

Mei took a step back when the woman began lifting again. The other members of the organization were suddenly at her side, and she was taken away from her previous trance, trying to figure out what “no” meant.

McCree threw his hands on his hips, “Does she understand English?” A scoff left Zarya as Mei nodded, “Well, Miss Zarya, my name’s Jesse Mc-”

“You may not call me Zarya. It is Zaryanova to you,” She explained as she squatted to grab her weights, lifting them with the rest of her tense body.

“Okay… Zaryanova, well, my name’s McCree, this is Genji and Zenyatta, we are from Over--” Jesse jerked when he was interrupted… again.

“I already told your little--” Zarya raised an eyebrow, looking Mei up and down, “Little, little friend here. You wasted a trip and you waste your breath. I will not join. I am not interested. Goodbye.”

“But--” Mei stepped forward.

“Goodbye, little woman,” grunted Zarya as she raised her weights again.

And that was that.


	2. Chapter 2

This was certainly a blow to the squad’s ego. 

The four furied together out of the gym as if they received a boot square in the ass. McCree hadn’t spoken a lick of English since, and Genji was speaking quietly to Zenyatta while Mei kept looking back with her brows pushed together. 

She interrupted the tyraid of Spanish curses, “Let’s get to the hotel, I… we won’t give up yet, she doesn’t even know why we’re seeking her out! She probably heard all of the bad things about Overwatch and just needs to know it’s different now…” 

All eyes were on her, and Zenyatta nodded, “I enjoy your enthusiasm, Mei. I cannot agree more, this mission isn’t a failure but it is merely unfinished.” He reset his optics’ brightness.

The former Blackwatch members made faces but by the time they were at the hotel, Genji was on McCree’s back, squeezing his cheeks and forcing him to smile while the two talked about missions that Gabriel would’ve smacked them both for bringing up outside the team.

Oh, Gabriel…

A sore spot for most of the Overwatch members.

Mei focused on her own thoughts. They were centered about Zarya and what should be her next move -- the team’s next move. She felt underprepared for this mission. The four of them barely had any training together, and none of them had ever led a team. Before the fall, her priorities were helping people through science, and it almost felt passive compared to the actions that people like Jack, Gabriel, and Ana took. 

It was different now, as if they had no higher-ups to guide them. This was new territory for all of them. 

“We can’t be deterred…” muttered the Chinese woman as she passed by the rest of her team. Her hand dragged across McCree’s back, and she patted Genji’s shoulder. The fire behind her eyes burned bright as she grabbed a notebook from one of her bags and took into one of the bedrooms, “Go ahead and get some dinner, boys. I’ve got some… thinking to do.” 

A smile spread across Mei’s face. 

\---

Snowball’s beeps began at 4:30AM. Its lights went on as it darted from its charging station and pushed blankets from its owner.

“Xuě qiú--” Mei pushed Snowball away and tried pulling the blanket up but that only caused its beeps to increase. She jerked up suddenly when she realized it would wake the rest of the team, “Okay, okay, Snowball, stop. I’m getting up, here I am!” 

She tumbled out of bed while trying to catch Snowball who floated just out of reach. Once she hit the floor, she was definitely awake and back on her feet in three seconds. She caught her machine and it stopped beeping after an amused series of clicks. Mei huffed, “You think you’re so funny, don’t you?” She blew hair out of her face before kicking her movements into high gear.

In the next half hour, she cleaned up the room and showered. Her outfit of choice was a pair of tights and a sports bra that left a thin strip of skin visible in-between. Both articles of clothing were a gradient of blue and white, and she had sneakers that matched… if only she could find them.

Mei eventually found them, but now, she felt as if she was running late. She tied the laces and gave Snowball one last pat on the head before taking off. She peeked into the living room where she found Genji and McCree sprawled on the couch together. Empty bottles littered the coffee table and floor. It looked as if they had a lot more fun than her last night. No sign of Zenyatta, however.

She didn’t think much of it as she left the hotel into the bitter morning air. It was immediately that she regretted her clothing choices but it only encouraged her to get moving. 

It was a walk at first but quickly became a jog. She was already running late from having to find her sneakers. Before long, it was a run.

A run all the way from the gym where they met Zarya yesterday.

When she arrived, Mei skidded to a stop. Her upper-half fell downwards with her chest rising and falling in rapid succession. There was no longer any concern about the cool air since it was helping evaporate the sweat on her body.

“Oh, little Overwatch lady, you are back!” shouted Zarya.

Mei jerked her head up, still panting. She had no way of knowing how long Zarya had been jogging for, but there didn’t seem to be a bead of sweat on her. It took her another minute to collect herself before she straightened her spine and swallowed back, “Good morning, Zarya!” She wheezed. 

Zarya cocked her head to the side and adjusted the duffel bag that was hanging off her shoulder, “What brings you back? I already explained to your men that I will not join.” 

Mei took a sharp breath before offering a smile from ear-to-ear, “No. I mean, yes, you did explain to my teammates, but that’s not why I’m here. I want to workout.” She rested a hand on her own chest, taking another deep breath, “With you, if that’s okay.”

Now, this was interesting.

Zarya raised an eyebrow with her smirk not fleeing. She glanced at Mei then at the entrance of her gym. Her hands landed on her hips, “You didn’t bring any water. Hydration is one of the most important parts of working out. Come on, let’s fill you up!!” A hand lashed out and grabbed Mei’s shoulder suddenly, pulling her close. They walked into the gym together with the Russian woman taking the lead. 

Mei’s smile was concrete now. This counted as a success, didn’t it? She had a chance to be alone with the other woman, and her decision to learn Russian proved to be useful for more than just sharing notes.


End file.
